Last Star Burning
by Xerios
Summary: Recalled halfway through their five year mission, the crew of the Enterprise returns to Federation Space to learn of a threat that may just imperil the entire galaxy.
1. Chapter 1

**Last Star Burning**

**Chapter One**

"This is a mistake."

There were days when Admiral Moore wished he had taken his chance to retire rather than accepting the promotion that had led to his current position as head of Starfleet. He could've been sitting on a beach down in Florida watching his grandkids romping around in the sand without a worry in the world. At least, that's what he would be telling himself if he hadn't had access to the information he currently had. For the past six months they'd been reinstating the retired, the resigned, and the dismissed. Missions had been cancelled and ships recalled and still, in the darkest recesses of his thoughts, the Admiral knew it wouldn't be enough.

He hadn't been the first to come to that conclusion and it had been a cold realization that the decision had been made long before he'd even glimpsed the reports. That Section 31 had been but the tip of the iceberg had been difficult enough to digest. Learning that Admiral Marcus had been gearing up for the wrong threat had been harder to accept. They couldn't keep it hidden for much longer, not with reports now coming in of worlds far closer to home going dark.

The council agreed with him, else he would not have a certain headstrong Captain glaring him down in his office.

"I understand your grievances, Captain-"

"All due respect sir, you really don't."

The admiral sighed and shook his head.

He had done his absolute best to delay this confrontation. Arranging for the Enterprise to be the last ship recalled had cost so many favors and even required breaking protocol in quite a few places. Keeping them in the dark as to the reason had proved to be even more difficult and ultimately futile.

"The council already made its decision," Moore stated. "Berating me will not change that."

"You can convince them-"

"Convince them of what, Captain? To throw away what may be our only chance of survival? You've seen the footage, you've read the reports. Can you honestly tell me that we are ready to face something like that?"

"No sir," Kirk answered, though he did not look happy. The admiral didn't much care for whether he was happy or not. "I still think it's a mistake."

"Of course you do. Hell, I'm not entirely convinced of it myself, but we've got to look at the facts. Three planets in Klingon space have gone dark over the past month. Twice that in Romulan space. A total of fifty-nine in the past three years. The number is probably higher and by all accounts whatever those things are, they are coming this way and they are stronger than anything we've got."

"I know."

"Look, I'm aware this pisses you off. I read the reports that came out of that incident."

"Did you, sir?"

"Don't play at passive indifference, Captain," Moore snapped, feeling more than a bit irate. "It's not convincing."

"But why now? That's what I don't get. Why are we only being told about this now? We could have been preparing-"

"Who says we haven't been preparing?"

"Sir?"

"Do you really think the council just signed release orders on the Augments on the off chance they'll help us out? We're not stupid, Captain. You and your crew weren't the only one's affected. We all know what they're capable of and we know they've no reason whatsoever to help us."

"So what's your plan then?" Kirk asked, leaning forward to place his hands on the edge of the desk. "That's what you're hinting at, isn't it? That you've got a plan for all this."

"It's not my plan," Moore admitted, opening up a folder from his desk and glancing briefly over the label before sliding it forward. "I would have never approved it, but then again, I wasn't exactly asked for my opinion at the time."

Kirk picked it up with a frown, glancing over the top sheet within.

"Project Stormfront? Who thinks of these names?"

The admiral ignored that, turning to the computer inbuilt on his desk and pulling up a few assignment forms.

"I suggest you take your time to read through it thoroughly, Captain."

"Sir?"

"Given that the project has only recently come to light and has thus far had virtually no oversight into scope or funding, it is technically under investigation," Moore explained without looking up. "With the current threat, we cannot afford to shut it down, especially as the reports we have read from it are extremely promising. You were told this dealt with Section 31, correct?"

"Yes."

"That was a half-truth. Section 31 funneled the funding for it, but they had no hand in any of the development."

Kirk was flipping through the folder now, frown deepening.

"Private contracting?" he asked, puzzled. "That doesn't make sense."

"The private development sector has less stringent rules than we do. And the company in question, Pyramid Research Industries, is owned by the brother of one Admiral Lucas Graves. You remember him."

"Yeah, I do. He was under investigation after the London incident. The council dropped the charges, didn't they?"

"Yes."

"And this is why?"

"Money still seems to count quite a lot even today," Moore said with a sigh. "What matters now is this - the council does not trust Graves nor do they trust the Augments. They have agreed to authorize the transfer of five of the cryopods for use in the project. I am assigning you and your crew to oversee their transfer, and to investigate and observe the project itself. Nothing is to be done to them without your knowledge or permission. They are not to be allowed out of your sight."

At that Kirk looked up, surprise evident for only a second before being replaced with grim determination. The admiral supposed it was good that the Captain had grasped the situation so quickly.

"Yes sir."

"I understand that things can change drastically. I also understand that we may need to take extra measures to ensure cooperation with all parties. I would appreciate consultation on such matters, but I realize that may not be possible at times. I will do my best to back you up, should the situation call for it. Do you understand me?"

"Yes sir."

"Then you are dismissed, Captain."

* * *

The clearest footage had come from Romulan Territory and was exactly thirty-two seconds long. From what type of device it had been transmitted from was unknown, though the favored guess was some kind of security feed. They knew from other reports, from other transmissions, that the ship in question had been fleeing the planet it had launched from - nearly escaped too.

The first few seconds were chaos as all manner of debris and even a body flew past, evidence of a hull breach in the immediate vicinity. It stilled and for seven long seconds it appeared as if the scene was frozen on the silent empty compartment. No sound, no movement, nothing but the view of a corner and the wall beyond it.

And then it stepped into view.

Uhura had watched the recordings more times than she could count, trying to normalize it, to accustom herself to it - but still the chill of fear spread through her. It was just an image on the screen and yet it scared her more than coming face to face with a Klingon for the first time. She forced herself to watch though, to observe instead of looking away.

Bipedal, the beings appeared to be approximately seven feet in height, not much taller than the tallest human.

The similarities ended there.

There were no eyes, no mouth, no analogues for any known sensory organ that could be discerned, just a wedge shaped head - if it even was a head. At first she had thought it some kind of exosuit or possibly a machine, but its movements were far too fluid for the former and far too random to pre-programmed like the latter. The surface of its body reminded her somewhat of the carapace of a beetle, but metallic and far less rigid. There was a pattern of lines that seemed to indicate every joint, lines that shifted and glowed in an indiscernible rhythm as it moved into and out of the frame.

Taking a deep breath, Uhura closed the file and opened another. This one showed only ten seconds of sky, dark masses of what could only be ships descending through the clouds - there were too many to count. The Romulans were fleeing their territory in droves, and the Federation had of course offered them refuge.

But how long before that refuge became imperiled?

How long before they would find themselves watching their own worlds go dark?

How long before Earth became the target?

The beep of her communicator cut through Uhura's thoughts, not a message but an timed alert that she had set for herself. She quickly closed down the computer console and stood, taking a moment to straighten her uniform and adopt a calm expression before walking out the door. It was the first officer's meeting since they had returned to Earth and by extent, the first officer's meeting since she and a Spock had agreed on taking a 'break'. She most definitely did not want him, or anyone else for that matter, to see her upset in any way.

* * *

"I don't get how the Augments fit into this at all," Bones muttered, looking through his copy of the files the captain had sent around to the officers. "Why would they be bringing them in now? Why not when they were first discovered?"

"Marcus had them on lockdown, remember? Graves probably didn't find out about them until afterwards and asking for them then would've been suspicious."

"Well, I think its suspicious to be asking for them at all. What could they possibly need them for?"

"Maybe they want to see how their guys stack up," Kirk answered with a shrug, glancing at the conference room door. Normally they'd be doing the briefing on the Enterprise itself, but the PRI Representative had insisted on meeting with the officers prior to boarding the ship. That in itself was fishy, but the fact that they'd yet to be given a destination had set everyone on edge. "We'll find out soon enough."

"There's something else, Jim."

"There always is."

"Just how is this our trump card? By all account those things out there don't even need to breath. Genetically altered super soldiers they might be, but they still need oxygen and a hull breach'd take them out just as easily as you or me."

"There is such a thing as a space suit, Bones."

"Space suits can be torn up, helmet visors can be cracked," the doctor said, throwing Kirk an annoyed look as he tossed the file back down on the table. "It just seems like throwing firewood in a house fire. We already know these things are overwhelming the Klingons and the Romulans both, and they aren't exactly pushovers."

"Well, maybe PRI has something else up their sleeve."

"As a matter of fact, Captain, we do."

Both startled, they glanced up. As far as first impressions go, the young woman who strode into the room seemed remarkable unremarkable. Average height and average weight, with dark brown hair pulled back tightly into a bun, which added a slight severity to her otherwise neutral expression. If it weren't for her attire - a simple business pantsuit with the triangular PRI logo embroidered on the chest in roughly the same location as the Starfleet insignia on their own uniforms - she could have passed for an ordinary civilian.

"You must be Miss Barrows," Kirk said, standing from his chair and extending his hand as she approached the table. She shook it briefly and with no change to her expression whatsoever. Bones couldn't help but smirk slightly at the disappointment that briefly flashed across the Captain's face. This was one person he wouldn't be able to charm. "We're still waiting on some of my officers..."

He trailed off then, as the conference room doors had slid open to admit the remaining officers. It was very hard not to notice the way Uhura and Spock pretended not to be trying to avoid each other as they took seats on the opposite side of the table from each other. They were followed in by Sulu, who looked distinctly uncomfortable - probably from having to ride up in the elevator with the feuding couple.

The last into the room was the Enterprise's security officer, a stern young woman by the name of Shian Vega - appointed to the position prior to their departure from Earth nearly three years ago. She had a strict and no nonsense approach to security that had found her arguing with the Captain on more than one occasion, but had otherwise adapted quickly to life on the ship. Her insistence that even non-security personnel be trained in self-defense had proven to be rather helpful, although the first few weeks had been annoying - bruises had been common and in one instance someone had managed to break their wrist during one of her 'sparring matches'.

"Right, now that everyone's here, let's get started. I'm sure everyone's read the files I gave them, and if you'd care to elaborate on anything Miss Barrows, like, oh, I don't know - where we're going - now is the time. "

"Misceres."

The entire room turned to look at Spock.

"How the hell do you know that?" Kirk asked, looking bewildered. It only took a single glance at Barrows to know that she was just as surprised. The Captain looked at her for confirmation. "Is he right?"

"Yes."

"Of the nine extra-solar facilities owned by Pyramid Research Industries, only three are equipped to handle the type of large scale operation as presented in the files you gave us, Captain," Spock explained. "Of those three only on has been in existence long enough to match the supplied time frame."

"But Misceres is logged as a level four hazard zone," Sulu pointed out with a frown, leaning forward on the table. "No one's supposed to go within five lightyears of the system, let alone set up a facility there."

"Misceres was logged into the system by Pyramid, it stands to reason that upon finding an ideal location for their research that they would set up as many precautions against it being found as possible. A level four hazard would hardly be placed on priority research lists within Starfleet's own offices and would warn off potential competitors. And as the report states that Section 31 was involved in your funding, am I correct in assuming that they assisted in registering the planet as such?"

"Yes, Mister Spock," Barrows answered with the barest edge of impatience to her voice. "But that hardly matters now, does it? We're here to discuss Project Stormfront, not quibble over the details of its location."

"Very well."

"Yeah, about that," Bones broke in, tapping his fingers atop the files he'd been reading. "I get the whole impending doom situation has sort of forced this into light, but why are you only just now putting in this requisition order? Why not earlier?"

Miss Barrows looked at him and despite the lack of expression on her face he sensed she was taking the time to carefully calculate her response.

"We did submit an earlier requisition for one of the Augments. It went through shortly after the incidents in London and San Francisco. The council granted our proposal-"

"Wait, wait, wait," Kirk said, holding a hand up. "They already granted you one?"

"Yes."

"Which one?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Last Star Burning**

**Chapter Two**

"Well, this is going to be fantastic."

Shian shot Bones a sideways glance, noting that the doctor was distractedly scrolling through the supply list for the medical bay. The meeting had ended and she had been trying to decide whether or not to feel sorry for Miss Barrows - a task that would have been easier if the woman hadn't remained so emotionally unaffected throughout the Captain's questioning. The PRI representative had replied to every query thrown her way with the same slightly bored monotone, a fact that had not earned her any favors.

"And by fantastic, I mean a complete disaster."

"You've said that three times already," Shian pointed out as the elevator stopped and the door snapped open. As they exited into the loading docks, she pulled out her own data pad and flicked it on, ignoring the annoyed look he gave her. She had her own checklist to go over, including the passenger and crew manifest. "So either you're just saying it as a verbal stress reliever or you're fishing for me to agree with you - which I don't, by the way. I've already tapped extra security this trip as per the Captain's orders, we're going to be fine."

"Yeah, tell that to the people who died in London and San Francisco."

"Okay, I know that tone. What else is bothering you?"

"You want a list?" Bones asked, tucking his data pad under his arm. "We're about to embark on a mission to a planet that's listed as a level four hazard because a private company paid off an entire subset of Starfleet Officials so they could grow an army of super soldiers to battle the terrifying alien bugs that are threatening the galaxy. It's like a damn tabloid news net story."

Shian stared at him for a moment, mentally deciphering and comparing that rant to what had been presented and discussed during the meeting. They had already gone over this, so it was highly unlikely to be the root of what was troubling him.

"Yes, it's all very surreal. What's the real issue?"

"The real issue?"

"Yes, because you sure as hell would not be this irritated if all that was bothering you were the mission parameters," She said, giving him a stern look. "Let me take a wild guess, though. Is it the fact that this entire situation came about because Starfleet - like every other military organization in history - has entire sub-sections dedicated to bullshitting?"

It was his turn to stare now.

"And I thought I was pessimistic."

"Working in security does not foster optimism."

"Evidently not," Bones muttered, shaking his head. "Still, this thing with bringing in the Augments. It just doesn't sit right, especially now that we know they've already got one. I don't believe for one minute that it's 'comparative testing' like Barrows said."

"Yeah, neither do I. Hence why I've called in some of my private security contacts."

"Is that why we're heading out late?"

"Yes and no," Shian answered with a grimace, calling up a specific file on the passenger manifest. "We're not just delivering the cryopods, but supplies and personnel as well."

"Really? It's not just Barrows?"

"There's two other PRI reps coming with her - both of them are from the company's Weapons Development Division. There is also someone PRI has apparently hired as a 'consultant' though it doesn't say what for."

"I'm not going to like this am I?" Bones asked, looking apprehensive as she held out the data pad for him to take. "Please don't be who I think it is."

He looked down at the file she had pulled up, expression becoming one of someone resigned to the gallows. After a moment, he slowly handed the data pad back to her.

"Well, this is going to be fantastic."

* * *

Pre-launch preparations were well underway, not a hiccup to be found. Scotty hadn't really expected any, considering he'd spent the entire week and a half they'd been in port going through each system one by one as per protocol when returning from a long range mission. While the majority of the crew hadn't been too happy at being recalled, he'd felt bit relieved. Trips into unknown space represented hazards that might break the ship in ways he wouldn't be able to fix with a simple work around.

Oh, he had been excited about the trip to be sure - there was a thrill in new challenges and he'd always wanted an assignment on a ship bound for worlds unknown. But there was always a trade off. Being closer to home meant faster repairs should something important start to malfunction.

And now, well, the current situation definitely did not sit well with him, though he supposed that was true of the majority of the crew. No one in their right mind wanted to deal with the Augments again, which clearly made everyone from Pyramid certifiably insane. He had said as much to the Captain earlier. It was refreshing to be agreed with on the matter, even if it didn't actually change anything.

Scotty sighed and glanced up from the console to where Keenser usually sat. The Enterprise's early return to Earth had prompted the Roylan to return home to visit his family for a bit. His absence was oddly unsettling, but again not a thing that could be helped.

Everyone needed downtime every once in a while.

"Hab systems are optimal."

He glanced across the way at the habitation monitoring system and the ensign assigned to it - a pretty young lass by the name of Marie. She had been added to the ship's roster within the last week as a temporary replacement for Keenser. So far she had been quite helpful, had a friendly demeanor, and - as an added bonus - did not climb all over the equipment.

"Right," Scotty said, leaning forward towards the comm. "Hear that, captain? Ready when you are."

* * *

"What the hell is she doing on my ship?"

"She's accompanying the Pyramid reps as a consultant," Shian explained, fully aware that this conversation was not going to be a fun one. She had delayed telling him until they were already underway for exactly this reason. "For their weapon's development division. Don't ask me what kind of weapons, the dossier didn't list them."

The twiggy blonde woman standing before them had caused quite a lot of trouble during their previous mission. They had come across an outpost listed as belonging to Weston Research Labs on a planet called Lagos only to discover that everyone save her was dead of a disease that only she had the antidote to. This was a factoid that hadn't been revealed until after she'd been brought aboard and infected half the crew. She had only given up the formula for it after they had agreed to take her along, which had turned out to be an even greater annoyance - they'd locked her in the brig only to find her in one of the science labs the next morning drawing memorized schematics for prosthetic limbs and cybernetic implants.

Shian had been assigned to make sure she didn't do anything to endanger the crew from that point on, and had spent the remainder of the time wondering just how this decidedly insane woman managed to fit so much information in her brain without it exploding. Questionable mental and moral state aside, the woman - who had insisted upon being referred to by either an acronym of her full name or a shortening of her first name of 'Artemis' to 'Arty' - had proven to be quite talkative and even friendly. Despite everything, the security officer had ended up liking her. The Captain, having only been exposed to Arty's coercive tactics, did not share this opinion.

"What kind of weapons, Miss Deidrich?"

"You know, I believe we've been acquainted long enough that it would be socially appropriate to use my first name."

"I don't care," Kirk informed her with a glare. "What kind of weapons?"

"I don't know yet, I haven't developed them."

"Bullshit. In fact, I call bullshit on the consultant thing too."

"Well, that is the terminology they used in the contract," Arty said, tilting her head slightly to the side. "They have promised me materials, a fabrication lab, and my own development team. They'll probably be completely useless, but I suppose it's the thought that counts."

"But why?"

"I do happen to be a genius, you know."

"Yeah, you've said that pretty much every time we've ever spoken," Kirk said, rolling his eyes. "But I thought you were in pathology. Or was it virology? That's what Lagos was, wasn't it? A virology lab."

"She wasn't there for that," Shian broke in with a grimace. Kirk glanced at her questioningly. "I read her file. Lagos may have mainly been a virology lab, but it also housed labs for advanced prosthetics and cybernetic implant development. That's where she was assigned."

"Really? And what kind of weapons can you develop from that? An arm mounted phaser?"

"Don't give her ideas!"

"I don't think phasers will do much good against what we're facing, Captain," Arty stated calmly. "They are, after all, designed to affect the neural pathways of carbon-based life forms."

"Right. Shian?"

"Yes sir?"

"You're back on guard duty for this trip," Kirk said with a sigh. "Don't let her near the cargo hold or the med bay. Or the labs. Actually, just keep her in the passenger section."

"Yes sir."

With that he went walking off, leaving Shian alone in the corridor with Arty, who appeared only mildly perplexed at this development.

"It is only eleven hours in warp to Misceres," she said, glancing at Shian with a slight frown on her face. "What does he imagine that I will be able to accomplish in so short a time?"

"You broke out of the brig, into a science lab, and had specs drawn up for robot legs in less than two hours before, remember?"

"That's because I didn't have anything to write with."


End file.
